One Piece: Summer Days
by XFangHeartX
Summary: Modern Day AU. Summary inside. Will be M-Rated later on. Contains LuNa, might be some AceNoj, and ZoRo. Read and review, and no flames or hate, please!
1. Prologue

One Piece: Summer Days

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><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard © Me

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><p>Summary- Modern Day AU. Luffy and the Straw Hat gang have graduated from East Blue High and are now starting their summer vacation, and that means beaches, campouts, hiking, summer romance and drama, and just plain goofing around. Contains LuffyNami, Zoro/Robin.

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Grand Line City…

A place of mystery, grandeur, and romance of any kind.

Here, people live life by the old saying, "expect the unexpected".

For some, it's the same old thing, everyday. For others, they would often take a chance and surely discover something they never had before, whether it was good or bad.

Some of those people happened to be a group of friends.

The Straw Hat Gang; a motley group of misfits who found and made themselves a place all their own.

Luffy D. Monkey, the goofy, smiley-mouthed leader of the group who lives with his older brother.

Zoro Roronoa, the second-in-command and Luffy's best friend.

Nami, Luffy's girlfriend.

Usopp, a somewhat cowardly guy and Luffy's other best friend.

Sanji, a charming but rather perverted chef who used to be Luffy's rival for Nami's affections, but now, they're as tight as tight could be.

Vivi Nefertari, the daughter of the president of Nefertari Enterprises and heiress to the fortune whom Sanji is currently dating.

Chopper, Usopp's blue-nosed terrier puppy and the cutest of the bunch.

Robin Nico, Luffy's history teacher and Zoro's lover, despite their age differences.

Last, but not least, Blizzard, a wolf-dog , mascot of the East Blue White Wolves, and Luffy's good luck charm that he almost lost during the school-year to a law.

These 9 friends vowed that they would always look after each other through thick-and-thin, even if they all had to go their own separate ways, someday. Until then, they would enjoy whatever time they had together, prepared for whatever the future had to throw at them.

Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Usopp, and Vivi, as well as many others, had all graduated from East Blue High School, so now that summer vacation had finally arrived, they were free to do whatever they pleased…

At least until college.

To Luffy, the Summertime brought many opportunities (or "adventures" in his case) and whatever it was, he would always be ready to take the next step forward.

"There's no time for looking back!" he'd say. "Just look ahead!"

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><p>Yes, I know, it's extremely short, but next chapter's gonna be longer, I assure you.<p>

Review, please!


	2. Something Old yet Something New

**Ch. 1- Something Old, yet Something New**

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><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard © Me

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><p>Thursday, June 20th. 10:02 am.<p>

A beautiful blue sky with only a few clouds here and there. The weather was warm- but not too warm- and just perfect.

On some days, people just go through their daily routines. However, if one would take a second look, they would certainly something old, and yet something new at the same time.

"Hah~…what a beautiful day!"

"It sure is. It's nice and warm outside. I just love it when the weather's like this."

Luffy lay on the grass in Going Merry Park with Nami sitting beside him.

Luffy no longer wore his red hoodie jacket, since it was too hot for it. He now wore a red hoodie vest with a white shirt underneath, as well as a pair of jeans shorts and a simple pair of sandals.

Nami was dressed in a pink tank top and jeans shorts that reached up to her hips.

Perfect summer-wear for weather such as this.

"You know what we should do?" Nami asked. "We should go on a picnic, someday."

"I'm all for that!" Luffy declared as he sat up. "If we go, make one of your tangerine cakes! I love those!"

"You love all my cooking," Nami remarked.

"Only 'cause I love you," Luffy said with a chuckle.

Nami smiled softly before she pulled her beau into a loving embrace and kissed his cheek. He always had some way of making her heart melt and make her all mushy.

Luffy, caught up in the moment, just kissed his girlfriend back.

**WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!**

Luffy looked back upon hearing the familiar barking of his dog, Blizzard, and saw the wolf-dog galloping up to him.

"Hey, buddy!" Luffy greeted.

Blizzard nipped at Luffy's sleeve and began to tug at it.

"What's up with you?" Luffy asked.

"I think he wants to show you something, Luffy," suggested Nami.

"Is that it, Blizzard?" Luffy questioned. "You wanna show me something?"

Blizzard nodded his head and then turned to leave. Luffy and Nami soon got up to follow him.

Blizzard led the pair to an old bridge in the park that no one really used, anymore. There, they soon found what the dog had discovered.

It was an old Volkswagen Type 2 microbus from the early 60s, brown with rust, windows broken, and covered with moss and other foliage. It was clearly missing its axel, for the wheels underneath it were missing.

"Whoa!" Luffy said as he went up closer to the old clunker. "Look at this thing! I didn't even know this was here!" He reached down to pet Blizzard. "Good find, buddy!"

"This thing has gotta be ancient," Nami commented. "If Robin saw this, she'd probably want it to be in the museum!"

Luffy began to pull off the moss, vines, and grass from the old car to get a better look at it, but then, he stopped himself.

"Hey!" he said. "I just got a great idea!" He turned to Nami. "I know somebody who might wanna take a look at this!"

"Robin?" Nami asked.

"Close," Luffy said.

XXX

1:23 pm.

Franky House Scrap Yard, an old junkyard in the Water 7 District of the City. Sometimes, old vehicles that end up here end up becoming fixed up like new, and they were even better than they were, before.

Why?

It was all thanks to the owner of the Scrap Yard…

Flam Cutty- or "Franky", as he preferred himself to be called.

"Yo! Franky! You here, man?"

"Luffy, maybe we should come back, later."

Luffy, Nami, and Blizzard rode the bus (rode on the roof, that is) all the way here to find Franky, who was a man in his 30s. He became friends with Luffy after the teen saved his life two months ago. Ever since, Franky had owed a great debt that he felt like he could never repay, and began to charge little to nothing whenever the D brothers brought their car to get it fixed.

The rest of the Straw Hat gang just wished that he would wear some pants.

Luffy entered the main office of the Scrap Yard and saw the man in question sitting at his desk, watching TV.

"Hey, Franky!" Luffy greeted.

"Straw Hat!" Franky greeted back as he got up and embraced the teen…rather tightly. "Good to see ya!"

"Y-you, too, Franky!" Luffy said, struggling against the man's iron grip.

By then, Nami and Blizzard entered.

"Oh! You brought Sis and Snowy with ya!" Franky said as he put Luffy down and prepared to hug them, too, but they both backed away.

"Uh, no hug, please," said Nami.

Blizzard nodded quickly.

"Aw," Franky sighed. "If you say so." He then turned to Luffy. "So, Straw Hat! What brings you guys down to my neck of the woods?"

"Well, Franky," Luffy began, "we found something in Going Merry Park that we figured you might wanna see!"

Franky raised sunglasses in intrigue.

XXX

2:45 pm.

Franky drove his all-terrain pick-up truck back to the park with Luffy, Nami, and Blizzard riding along with him. Once they got back, the mechanic was led to the old microbus.

The moment he saw it, Franky was immediately in tears.

"Who would just cast aside such a beautiful thing?" he sobbed. "I mean- look at it! It's SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL!"

_Wow,_ Nami and Blizzard thought.

"So, Franky," Luffy said. "You think you can fix it?"

"Fix _her_, you mean," Franky said. "And I can do more than fix her, Straw Hat! I'll make her even better than ever!"

"Really?" asked Luffy.

"You bet!" Franky answered. "You and your friends come to the scrap yard in 3 days! You'll get a SUPER surprise!"

"Sweet!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Good luck, Franky!" Nami said

"You bet!" Franky called back as the couple and their dog walked away. He then turned back to the old van and placed a hand on its rusted chasse. "Well, beautiful," he began, "looks like it's just you and me. I've got SUPER plans for you!"

XXX

Sunday, 9:02 am.

"Luffy, did you have to get us up so freaking early?"

"This had better be worth the crap trip!"

"It will be! Trust me!"

"The last time you said that, we were nearly mauled by a Bull Terrier."

"But we got out of that without a hitch!"

"If you recall, that beast was about to tear my nose off!"

Three days had passed.

Luffy had brought Nami, Zoro, Robin, Sanji, Vivi, Usopp, Chopper, and Blizzard to Franky's Scrap Yard to see the surprise that he had waiting for them.

"Franky!" Luffy called. "We're here! Where are you?"

"I'm in the back! Over here!"

The gang followed the sound of Franky's voice to the back of his main office. There, they soon found the mechanic, standing before a large tarp.

"Glad to see you could make it!" Franky said.

"So what'd you do with the van, Franky?" Luffy asked, excitedly. "I can't wait to see!"

"Drum roll, please!" exclaimed Franky.

Usopp went over to an empty oil barrel and began drumming his hands on it.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Franky announced. "Dogs and pups of all ages! I, the SUPER awesomely amazing Franky, present to you the unveiling of the most SUPER incredible vehicle imaginable!"

"Just get on with it!" Nami ordered, impatiently.

"My friends!" Franky shouted as he grabbed the tarp. "I give you…"

He pulled the tarp away, revealing to the Straw Hat gang their surprise: the microbus, only…it was different.

It was given a new paint job of red, white, and brown. The emblem for the Volkswagen had been replaced by a cartoon-like lion with a smiley face. The license plate read 1000SUNNY.

Everyone looked at the vehicle with surprise, but none of them could match the look on their leader's face.

"Franky…" Luffy said. "What is this?"

"I call her the 'Thousand Sunny'!" Franky answered. "She's got it all! A speedometer that goes up to a thousand miles an hour! 12 adjustable leather seats! Shag rug carpeting! Water bed! Cup holders! What do you think? SUPER, am I right?"

"SO AWESOME~!" Luffy cried as he ran up to the old-turned-new microbus and practically hugged it.

"Wow, Franky!" Nami said. "I've gotta say, I'm impressed!"

"Yeah," Zoro agreed. "I can see why this took three days."

Chopper and Blizzard barked and yipped at the car, seemingly also impressed by its new makeover.

"It's kind of like an RV, only not as big," Sanji commented.

"You sure she can run good?" Usopp questioned. "After all, this thing was made in the 60s!"

"You doubting me, Long Nose?" Franky questioned back.

"No, no, Franky," Robin said. "We like her very much."

"I figured you'd say that," Franky said. "'Cause I got a real treat for all of ya! Later this afternoon, I'm giving you all a ride down to the beach on Sunny!"

"REALLY?" Luffy asked. "WOW, FRANKY, YOU'RE THE BEST!"

Franky grinned proudly.

"A trip to the beach would be fun!" Vivi proclaimed.

"An excellent idea, Vivi, my darling!" Sanji agreed with hearts in his eyes. In his mind, he could picture Vivi, Nami, and Robin at the beach in skimpy, two-piece bikinis, making his nose bleed slightly.

"It's been so long since I've been to the beach!" Nami said. "Oh, I can't wait to get down there and work on my tan!"

"The beach is also a nice place to get some reading done," Robin added.

In the dogs' heads, all they could think about is how fun it would be to chase crabs, swim in the surf, and play Frisbee all day on the seashore.

"Hey, Franky!" Luffy asked. "Can I bring Ace with us?"

"And Nojiko, too?" Nami asked.

"And Kaya?" Usopp added.

"Of course!" answered Franky. "There's always room in the Sunny for more! And you know what they say: 'the more the merrier'!"

"Sweet!" Luffy cheered. "We'll head back home and get ready!"

"How about I drop you off at your pads and then come back later?" Franky said. "It'll be the perfect chance to test out Sunny!"

"Yeah!" Luffy replied. "I can't wait to take her for a ride! C'mon, guys!"

"Yeah~!"

With that, the Straw Hat gang boarded the Thousand Sunny and had Franky drive them all the way back home…

At least until they were ready to go down to the beach.

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><p>Next chapter will be longer.<p>

Review, please!


	3. A Day at the Beach

**Ch. 2- A Day at the Beach**

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><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard © Me

This Is My Paradise © Bridgit Mendler

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><p>3:00 pm.<p>

After picking up Luffy, Ace, Blizzard, Nami, Nojiko, Vivi, Usopp, Chopper, Kaya, Sanji, Zoro, and Robin, Franky pulled the Thousand Sunny up to beach parking lot. There, the passengers got a good view of the beach.

"Okay, we're here!" Franky called.

The car was soon filled with cheers, and everyone got out as fast as they could, excitedly headed for the seashore.

Most of the guys were wearing just their swim trunks. Ace and Franky were the only ones who wore shirts. Nami, Nojiko, Vivi, and Robin were all wearing two-piece bikinis, although Robin was wearing a lavender sarong around the bottom part, while Kaya was just wearing a one-piece bathing suit.

"We're here~!" Luffy cheered. "C'mon, guys! I'll race you down the shore!"

"Hang on, you nitwit!" Ace called. "Be careful going down there! There could be broken glass in the sand!"

"Don't worry, Ace!" Luffy called back. "I'm wearing sandals!"

**FWUMP!** He trips.

"I'm okay!"

Ace rolled his eyes.

"What am I gonna do with him?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Oh, relax, Ace," said Nojiko. "It's been a while since he's been to the beach. Let him have his fun."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ace said with a smile.

XXX

3:05 pm.

Nami lay on her beach blanket, her back facing the sun.

"Ah," she sighed. "This is the life. Sun, surf, sand…"

**BONK!** A beach ball suddenly bounced off her head, forcing her to sit up and grasp her skull.

"Sorry, Nami! My bad!"

"And idiot boyfriends…" Nami grumbled as she rubbed her head.

Luffy grabbed the ball and ran back to Zoro, Sanji, Ace, and Franky.

"Okay, I got the ball back, guys!" said Luffy. "Now back to the game! Here, Franky!" He tosses the ball to Franky, who punched it over to Ace, who knocked it back to Luffy, who tossed it over to Zoro, who slapped it to Sanji, who ducked under it as soon as it came near him.

"Hey, watch it, Moss-head!" Sanji barked. "It's because of your crazy strength we almost lost the ball, last time!"

"Oh, c'mon!" Zoro snapped. "You're just too chicken and toss it back when it comes at you, Dartboard!"

"What was that?" Sanji growled.

"You heard me!" Zoro spat.

While the two started arguing, Luffy went to get the ball back. However, he soon found that it was easier said than done.

Blizzard now had the ball trapped in his sharp teeth.

"Blizzard!" Luffy cried. "Gimme the ball back!"

Blizzard just ran from his master, forcing him to give chase, and Ace, Sanji, Zoro, and Franky soon joined in.

"C'mon, buddy!" Luffy called after the wolf-dog. "Bring back that ball!"

"Bad dog, Blizzard!" Ace yelled.

Usopp, meanwhile, was showing Kaya one of his latest masterpieces: a huge sandcastle with a seashell drawbridge, seagull feathers for flags, carved-in windows, and a tiny sand-version of Usopp, Kaya, and Chopper.

"Usopp, it's adorable!" said Kaya. "I love it!"

"Well, you are like a princess, Kaya," Usopp said. "You deserve only the best, and this sandcastle I've made is the best there is!"

**ARF! ARF-ARF! ARF!**

Usopp gasped when he saw Chopper come running toward the sandcastle.

"No, no, Chopper!" Usopp cried as he stood in between the charging puppy and the sandcastle. "Stay! Stay! Heel! Down! DON'T COME!"

**POOF!** Usopp's pleas fell on deaf ears, for little Chopper ran right into the sandcastle, completely crumbling it.

"AHHH!" Usopp screamed. "My precious work! Chopper, look what you did!"

Chopper came out of the sand, staring at Usopp with wide, sad eyes that said "I'm sorry."

Usopp and Kaya stared at the little pup for a while, but then, they took him into their embrace and began to adore him.

"Aw, what the hell!" Usopp said. "You didn't know what you were doing! You're only a puppy, for crying out loud!"

"So cute~!" Kaya added.

Robin sat in a beach chair, an umbrella over her eyes while reading a book. She knew that Zoro was the type to keep mostly to himself, and to her, that was just fine.

Speak of the devil, Zoro approached Robin.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey, yourself," Robin greeted back.

"Whatcha reading?" Zoro asked.

"_Beauty and the Beast_," Robin answered. "It's a story about a girl who fell in love with a prince who was cursed to be a monster."

"Yeah?" Zoro asked as he sat down next to her. "Sounds familiar in a way."

"Indeed," Robin agreed, a grin appearing on her face.

Out on the water, Nojiko and Vivi were doing a little scuba diving around the shore, checking out the coral reef underwater. They saw little fish, crabs with sea urchins on their backs, colorful coral, and some starfish here and there.

Of course, they needed to breathe, so they would occasionally resurface to catch their breath before returning to diving.

Back on the shore, Luffy decided to give up on trying to catch Blizzard. That dog was way too fast for him.

Besides, all that running made him hungry.

He decided to go down to the beach shack to get a snack.

Also, he hadn't seen Makino in forever.

XXX

3:15 pm.

"Knock-knock! Anybody home?"

The Party Bar Beach Shack was Luffy's favorite place at the beach, mostly because a dear friend of his late mother worked here: Makino.

"Luffy!" Makino exclaimed as she left the counter to give the raven-haired young man a greeting hug. "It's so nice to see you! What brings you down here to the beach?"

"My friends and I are having a beach day," Luffy answered. "I came down for a bit of a snack. You got anything to eat?"

"Of course!" Makino said as she went back behind the counter. "How about some fresh sushi?"

Luffy nodded his head vigorously.

XXX

A moment later, Luffy was sitting at the counter, eating a fresh California Roll.

"Thanks, Makino!" Luffy said through a mouthful.

"Anytime, Luffy," Makino said.

"So how's Shanks doing?" Luffy asked. "I heard he and you got engaged!"

"You heard right," Makino said as she showed Luffy her diamond engagement ring on her left ring finger. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Yeah," Luffy said before he swallowed. "I wanna get Nami a ring like that."

XXX

**AH-CHOO!**

Nami suddenly sneezed.

"Nami, are you all right?" Nojiko asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Nami said. "I think someone's talking about me, though."

XXX

Makino giggled at Luffy.

"Hey, Makino," Luffy said, "you wanna join us? There's always room for more!"

"Well, Luffy, I'd love to," Makino started, "but you know I don't get off of work till 6, tonight."

"Oh, yeah," Luffy said, somewhat disappointed, but then his face lit up again. "Hey, I know! You can join us, later! We'll have a night party on the beach!"

"Good idea, Luffy!" Makino praised.

"Yeah!" Luffy exclaimed. "We'll have lanterns, and music, and a bonfire! Oh, and food, too!" He stood up and prepared to head back out. "I'll go tell everybody!"

"You do that, Luffy!" Makino said. "See you later!"

"See ya!" Luffy called as he left.

XXX

3:25 pm.

Luffy had just gotten back with the rest of the gang and had just explained his idea to the others.

"Cool! A nighttime beach party!" Usopp said.

"Yeah, that's a great idea, Luffy!" Nami agreed.

"Let's go get the place set up for the party!" Vivi added.

"SUPER!" Franky yelled.

"Let's get to work!" Luffy shouted.

With that, everyone began to work on decorating their spot on the beach for the party later tonight.

Luffy, Ace, Zoro, and Sanji gathered lots of wood for the bonfire.

Franky and Usopp got to work on putting up posts for the lanterns.

Nami, Vivi, Nojiko, and Robin went to the shops near the beach to buy decorations for the party.

Of course, they were also going to need food. Luckily for them that Sanji had packed some for just such an occasion.

"You've practically thought of everything, Sanji!" Vivi commented.

The gang was hard at work, and they took short breaks until they kept going.

Three hours later, the place was set.

XXX

6:25 pm.

The sun was setting behind the sea. The sky was a beautiful orange-pink, as well as the sea.

As the day was drawing to a close, there was only thing left to do, here on the beach.

"BEACH PARTY~!"

Luffy's cheers were soon joined by the cries of agreement from his friends.

25 minutes after 6, Makino had closed the beach shack and had joined the festivities.

First up: a game of limbo.

"How low can you go?" The D. brothers asked they lowered the limbo pole.

Usopp insisted that he go first and that that the pole should be at least 1 ½ ft. above the ground.

"Try not to let that nose get you off balance," Zoro joked.

"Very funny!" Usopp remarked as he was about to go lower.

Unfortunately, his nose touched the pole at the last second, so he automatically lost.

"Better luck, next time, Usopp," said Kaya in reassurance.

Nami went next, although she had the pole brought up to half her height, and went underneath it, successfully.

"Way to go, Nami!" Luffy praised. "I knew you could do it!"

"Thanks, hon," Nami said.

Next up, Makino, who went under the pole with some effort, but nonetheless, she made it.

Franky went next, but he couldn't bend his back low enough to get under, so he lost when he fell over.

Up next was Nojiko. She had the pole go down at least 1 ¼ her height, and she surprisingly got under it easily.

Up next went Vivi. She had some trouble, but she made it okay.

After Vivi went Kaya. She lost when her finger accidentally grazed the pole by mistake. She had fun, though.

Robin went next, and Luffy could've sworn that he saw Zoro blush when she started laughing.

Luffy decided to go after. He did a pretty good job bending back when the pole was only about 2 feet above the ground.

Up next went Ace, who went under the pole with relative ease, earning the cheers from the gang.

Blizzard and Chopper were the last ones to go, although Usopp said they were cheating because they _crawled_ under, but Luffy just told him to let it go just this once.

"Hey, guys!" Sanji called. "The food's ready!"

"All right! Food!" cheered Luffy.

Everyone enjoyed their meal of burgers, hot dogs, and the food that Makino had brought with her. Luffy, of course, had to try and mooch off of everyone's food.

"KEEP YOUR FILTHY PAWS OFF MY PLATE, LUFFY~!" Usopp barked.

"You snooze, you lose!" Luffy declared.

"Stop being a mooch!" Sanji barked.

"Yeah!" Ace agreed.

"You should talk, Ace, you've been taking food, too!" Nojiko remarked.

Everyone laughed at Ace's blushing face.

At one instance, they even sat around a bonfire while Franky played his guitar, and all the while they would sing a song or two.

"**This is my,**

**This is my paradise~**

**I'm at home,**

**Above all, I got right~**

**Let the sun on my shoulders shine~**

**We can run beneath this clear piece of sky~**

**This, this is my paradise~"**

And, of course, to end any perfect day at the beach, the gang watched the sunset together.

"It's so beautiful," Nami commented.

"I know," Luffy agreed. "Just like you."

Nami smiled and tenderly grasped her beau's hand.

"Yes, the sunset is gorgeous," said Sanji before he turned to Vivi with hearts in his eyes, "but not as gorgeous as my precious Vivi!"

"Oh, Sanji!" Vivi said.

"A perfect end to a perfect day," Usopp added.

"I agree," said Kaya.

"It's things like these that make life worth living, doesn't it?" asked Robin.

"It sure does," Zoro answered.

"This sure has been fun," Ace said.

"Thanks, Franky," Nojiko said.

"Ah, don't mention it," said Franky. "I'm always there for my pals!"

Luffy suddenly yawned.

"I don't know about you guys," Luffy began, "but I'm ready to go home and snuggle up in my nice, soft bed."

"Me, too," Nami agreed.

"I think we all are," Ace said.

"How about you and Luffy ride with me, Ace?" Makino asked.

"You can go ahead without me, Ace," said Luffy. "I'll have Franky drop me off."

"If you say so," Ace said.

And so, everybody packed up all their stuff, dusted off their sandy bodies, got into the _Thousand Sunny_ (while Ace went with Makino of course), and headed for home.

They would never forget such a fun day.

* * *

><p>Sorry for the long wait!<p>

Review, please!


	4. A Day at Sabaody Park

**Ch. 3- A Day at Sabaody Park**

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><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Tangerine, Nami's cat © Me

* * *

><p>Monday, June 24th. 12:23 am.<p>

It was just another usual day for Nami. Nothing to do but brush her hair, clean her room, tend to the tangerine tree in the backyard, and play with her cat, Tangerine. Still, she was quite bored, especially since Nojiko was gone for the day.

As Nami was sitting in the living room, watching T.V., wearing her PJs, and eating some M&Ms, she heard a knock at the door.

"Oh, poo," she muttered as she stood up to answer it. She took a look through the peephole and saw, to her surprise, that it was Luffy.

Nami gasped. She couldn't answer the door for him knowing that she was still in her pajamas!

"Gimme a minute, Luffy!" Nami called before she hurried upstairs to her room. "That idiot," she grumbled as she entered her closet to pick out an outfit. "He could've called me, first! What is he doing here, anyway?" She ran to the bathroom to get dressed. Once she was finished, she ran back downstairs, hoping that her beau would still be there.

Thank goodness he was.

"Hey, Luffy," Nami greeted him.

"Hey, Nami!" Luffy greeted back. "Great! You're dressed!"

"Why?" asked Nami.

Luffy reached into his pocket, but then pulled it out.

"Oh, wait," he said. "It's not that one."

He reached into his other pocket, but he pulled that one out, too.

"Not that one, either," Luffy said. "Uh, hang on, gimme a minute."

He searched his back pockets, but nothing was in there either.

"Nope," Luffy muttered before he then smiled and lightly himself in the forehead. "Now I remember!" He reached into the band of his hat and pulled out what appeared to be two tickets.

"Check it out, Nami!" said Luffy. "Two tickets to Sabaody Park!"

Nami gasped.

"Sabaody Park?" she repeated. "That's the biggest amusement park in town, and tickets practically cost a fortune! How'd you buy these?"

"Oh, I didn't buy them!" Luffy corrected. "I won them in a hot dog eating contest!"

"Oh," Nami said, not very surprised, seeing as how her boyfriend had the appetite of a bull elephant.

"The funny thing was I didn't know I even entered," Luffy explained. "I was just hungry and needed a bite to eat!" He chuckled.

Nami smiled. She always loved hearing her boyfriend laugh.

"So what do you say?" Luffy asked. "Wanna go?"

"Well, Luffy," Nami began, "I'd love to, but…"

"But?" Luffy repeated, his smile sagging.

"Nojiko's gone for the day," Nami explained, "and I promised I'd stay and watch the house while she was gone. Maybe we can do this tomorrow."

"Aw, c'mon, Nami!" Luffy said, frowning. "I thought maybe we'd spend the day together, just the two of us!"

"I know, Luffy," Nami said, "but-"

"Please?" Luffy asked, giving Nami his saddest, cutest face.

Nami's lip quivered. She always hated it when Luffy used that face, but it was just too cute to resist.

"Alright, alright, Luffy!" Nami said. "You twisted my arm!"

"Yes!" Luffy cheered. "I knew you couldn't say no!"

Nami laughed.

"We can go now, if you want," she told him.

"Nah," Luffy said. "I gotta go home and get ready. I'll pick you up in about half-an-hour! Okay?"

"Sure!"

"Sweet! See ya then!"

With that Luffy, got on his bike and peddled back home, leaving Nami to go back inside and prepare herself for their day at Sabaody Park together.

XXX

2:02 pm.

After the long bus ride, Luffy and Nami finally arrived at their destination: Sabaody Park, the most popular amusement park in Grand Line City.

Sabaody Park was a very fun place to be, with rides, arcades, prizes, restaurants, and gift shops all over. What was interesting was that it had a bubble them to it.

"So," Luffy said, "you ready to have fun, Nami?"

"Yeah!" Nami answered. "I'm so excited!"

"Where do you wanna go first?" Luffy asked. "The gift shop? The arcade? The rides?"

His stomach suddenly rumbled, and he blushed.

Nami just giggled and said, "Let's get something to eat, first."

"Good idea," Luffy agreed, rubbing his stomach.

XXX

2:41 pm.

"Whew! That hit the spot!"

Luffy leaned back in his seat, patting his full stomach. The table that he had and Nami sat on had stacks of empty plates.

"That sure was yummy, Nami," Luffy said.

"I'm glad you enjoyed your meal," Nami said, sweat-dropping.

She understood that her boyfriend had a big appetite, she just didn't know how she was going to pay for it.

"Hey, don't worry about the food, Nami," said Luffy. "I can pay for it! Ace gave me money before I left!"

"Oh, well aren't you being a gentleman, today?" Nami said with a chuckle.

Luffy left the money on the table and stood up, and Nami followed suit.

"Ladies first," said Luffy, showing Nami the exit.

"Thanks, Luffy," said Nami as she walked out with Luffy following behind.

XXX

2:44 pm.

Luffy decided that he wanted to go on the fastest ride in the park, first: the roller coaster.

Nami wasn't really a big fan of those kind of rides, but she knew that Luffy would want her to go with him, so, with some reluctance, she agreed to ride the roller coaster with him.

After all, it couldn't be as scary as she was making it out to be…right?

Wrong.

"!"

"!"

Nami was screaming her head as streams of tears came streaking out of her eyes, hanging onto a cheering Luffy for dear life as the roller coaster sped on the track, going up and down, left and right, making loop-de-loops, zigzags, twists, turns, and so on.

It was the possibly the most frightening experience of poor Nami's life. She felt her heart practically pounding in her chest and she could've sworn that she might've made herself deaf with the loudness of her own screams.

Luffy was the only one who was laughing the entire time, but he seemed to know of Nami's distress, so, just to make it easier on her, he had an arm wrapped around her shoulders the entire time.

That did make her a feel bit more safe, but she was still screaming until the ride came to an end.

"Well," Nami started, "that was probably the most terrifying experience of my life…and yet…that was also very thrilling."

Luffy laughed.

"I knew you'd like it," he said.

Suddenly, he felt his stomach lurch.

"Ugh…" he groaned. "I shouldn't have eaten all those double chili-cheeseburgers before I got on that ride." He gagged before he made a run for the nearest trash can, and then released the contents of his stomach through his mouth.

Nami winced a bit at the sight, but then sighed.

Even Luffy couldn't hold in his vomit after having such a wild ride like that.

"You gonna be okay?" Nami asked her boyfriend.

"I will be," Luffy replied. "Hey, you wanna go to the arcade? I could win you a prize!"

"Okay," Nami said.

XXX

3:12 pm.

Luffy and Nami were down at Sabaody Arcade, the former currently playing a game of Pac-Man while the latter watched.

So far, Luffy hadn't lost, yet.

"Yeah, yeah!" Luffy exclaimed as he tilted the joystick and mashed on the buttons. "Come here, you little ghost!"

"C'mon, Luffy!" Nami cheered. "You can do it!"

About 45 minutes later, Luffy had finally lost the game, but he got at least 30 prize tickets.

He traded them in for a plush kitty for Nami, which she absolutely adored.

"Thank you so much, Luffy," Nami said, gratefully.

"Well, you know me!" Luffy said.

Nami wanted to get Luffy something in return, so she decided to play a game and win some tickets, too.

She decided to play a game of Whack-A-Mole. She effortlessly pounded the little robot moles on the head as they came popping out, and at such a speed, it was like her arms couldn't be seen.

Luffy, and perhaps about 20 guys, could only be left amazed.

In the end, Nami won 45 tickets. She cashed them in for a plush monkey for Luffy.

"Aww~! Thanks, Nami!"

"You know me!"

XXX

4:09 pm.

Luffy and Nami walked through the park

"I can't really think of anything else to do," said Luffy. "Except eat."

His stomach growled, again.

"You always have your mind set on food," said Nami.

"That's not true," said Luffy. "I don't have my mind set on food all the time. Sometimes I have it set on you. Why do you think I brought you out here?"

"Oh, Luffy," said Nami.

"Hey there, kiddos."

Luffy and Nami looked to their right and saw an old friend of the gang: Rayleigh Silvers, the owner of Sabaody Park.

"Hey!" Luffy said. "It's Old Man Rayleigh!"

"Hi, Rayleigh!" Nami greeted.

"What brings you to my neck of the woods, eh?" Rayleigh asked, taking a swig of his whiskey.

"Oh, just out on a date, the two of us," Luffy answered. "How's life treating you, Old Man Rayleigh?"

"Oh, I'm doing just fine, Luffy," Rayleigh said. "Thanks for asking."

"Where's Shakky?" Nami asked.

"Ah, she's on vacation," Rayleigh said. "Don't worry. She should be back next week. In the meantime, Camie's trying to help out."

Nami gritted her teeth a bit. Camie was another friend of the Straw Hat gang. She runs an octopus fritter stand in the park, and she was a very sweet girl, always wanting to help out…but she was somewhat…aloof.

"Hey, Old Man Rayleigh," Luffy said. "Where is Camie, by the way? I'm suddenly in the mood for her octopus fritters!"

"Oh, you'll find her by the Ferris wheel, as always," Rayleigh answered.

"The Ferris wheel!" Nami said. "Luffy, let's go on there, next!"

"Sure!" Luffy said. "Anything you want, Nami!"

Nami smiled before she grabbed Luffy's arm and dragged him away, both of them laughing.

"See ya, Old Man Rayleigh!" Luffy called.

"See ya!" Rayleigh called. "Have fun, you two!"

As Rayleigh watched the young couple head for the Ferris wheel, he couldn't help but sigh.

_To be young, again,_ he thought before he looked up to the sky. _What I would give to be just like them again…huh, Roger and Rouge?_

XXX

4:30 pm.

Luffy and Nami arrived at the Ferris wheel, where they found their friend Camie serving octopus fritters.

"Camie!" Nami called.

Camie looked up and gasped.

"Luffy! Nami!" she called. "Hi! What are you guys doing here?"

"We're on a date," answered Luffy. "Just the two of us."

"Aww, how nice," Camie said. "Would you like some octopus fritters?"

"Yes, please!" Luffy answered, eagerly. "And maybe some cotton candy if you've got some!"

"Sure, it's on me!" Camie said as she handed Luffy a box of octopus fritters and two sticks of cotton candy. "That'll be 200 Berries, please!"

"Camie, you said it was free," Nami said.

Camie made a comically shocked face.

"I GOOFED, AGAIN~!" she cried.

Nami and Luffy sweat-dropped.

"A-anyway," Nami said. "Camie, we're going on the Ferris wheel. You wanna join us?"

"I'd love to!" Camie exclaimed. "I was just about to take my break, anyway!"

"B-but Nami," Luffy stammered, "it was supposed to be just us!"

"Oh, yeah," Nami said. "Sorry, Luffy. I forgot."

"Oh, it's okay, Luffy," said Camie. "I can just sit in a different car! It'll still be just you and Nami! I promise, I won't get in the way!"

"Thanks, Camie," Nami said. "You're a real nice girl, you know that?"

"Of course!" Camie said. "Although," she looked to the ridiculously long line at the Ferris wheel, "you'll have to wait a while before you can ride."

Luffy's and Nami's jaws dropped.

"Ah, man," Luffy groaned.

XXX

5:30 pm.

After a long, painful hour of waiting in line, Luffy, Nami, and Camie finally got to board the Ferris wheel, the latter of the three getting into a different car while Luffy and Nami shared one together.

Luffy was munching on the other stick of cotton candy while Nami sat beside him.

They were up so high, and the view was spectacular. They could see the city's lights coming to life as the sky grew darker.

"It's so beautiful," Nami said.

"I know," Luffy said as he ate another octopus fritter.

A pause came.

"Hey, Luffy?" Nami asked.

"Hmm?"

"Listen," Nami said. "I wanna know…did you really wanna something else other than spend the day with me?"

"No."

"Okay, that was a bit too easy."

"Well, it's true. I couldn't really think of doing anything else except being with you."

"But why, though?"

"Well, I love you. I wanna make you happy…always."

Another pause.

"Then…why here, Luffy? We could've just…spent the day at home with each other, watching a movie or something."

"Blah! I didn't wanna do that! Too boring! I wanted to do something special with you…because…to me, you're special. You'll always be special to me."

Nami sighed.

"In a way, you sound like Sanji."

"No way! I'm not as perverted as he is."

"You're barely a pervert, at all!"

Luffy chuckled, and Nami couldn't help but do it with him.

"From the moment I saw you, Nami…I knew you had to be mine, even when you and Sanji were dating…and sometimes I think to myself…maybe it's useless. Maybe I should just give up on loving you and find someone else to love."

Nami looked to Luffy.

"But then…I look at you, again, and I know…that I'll never love someone else as much as I love you, no matter what, and I was so happy when I finally told you how I felt on our first date and when we had our first kiss…and I never wanted that feeling to go away, ever."

Luffy turned to Nami, eyes full of seriousness.

"Nami…promise me that you won't ever leave me. Please?"

Nami stared into her beau's eyes, her own glittering like the setting sun.

"Of course, Luffy," she said. "I promise…I'll never leave you."

With that, she gave Luffy a chaste kiss on the lips, which he returned. When they pulled away, Nami leaned her head on Luffy's shoulder.

"I love you, Luffy."

"I love you, too, Nami."

XXX

7:45 pm.

Later that evening, Luffy was dropping Nami off at her house, and around that time, Nojiko pulled in at the driveway.

"Hey!" Nojiko called as she got out of the car. "You two look like you had fun! Where'd you go?"

"Sabaody Park," Luffy replied.

"Really?" Nojiko asked. "Well, you say hi to Old Man Rayleigh and Camie while you were there?"

"Sure did," Nami answered. She let out a yawn. "I think I'll make some instant ramen and go to bed early tonight."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Nojiko said.

"I better get going, too," Luffy said. "Ace has probably been wondering why I haven't answered his text messages." He kissed Nami on the lips, once again, and then pulled away. "Bye, Nami."

"Bye," Nami said back.

And so, Luffy left Nami's house and headed home himself, and as he did, he felt his heart swelling with great passion.

Nami's heart felt the same.

* * *

><p>Review, please!<p> 


	5. Dolphin Daze

**Ch. 4- Dolphin Daze**

* * *

><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard © Me

* * *

><p>Friday, June 28th. 10:23 am.<p>

Nami was walking through Going Merry Park with a bag of new clothes and shoes after shopping at the Silver Fox Mall. There was a sale today on designer labels, and Nami couldn't help herself, especially since she had gotten an advance on her allowance from Nojiko. Now, she was heading home after a good day of shopping.

That is until she saw a certain someone sitting on a bench, staring at the river that flowed through the park.

It's Luffy.

"That's odd," said Nami. "I thought Luffy said he'd be somewhere, today."

She walked up to Luffy, curious as to why he was sitting there. When she approached him, closer, she saw something that seemed totally out of her beau's personality: she saw tear stains under his eyes!

"Luffy?" Nami called, questioningly.

Luffy slightly jumped at the sound of his girlfriend's voice, but when he saw her, he sighed, and then turned to face the river.

"Hi, Nami," he greeted, solemnly.

"What's wrong?" Nami asked as she put down her bags and sat down with him.

Luffy's bottom lip quivered, and his eyes started to water, again.

"She's…she's gone, Nami," Luffy said.

"What?" Nami questioned. "Who's gone?"

"Alexia," Luffy replied.

Nami gasped in horror, and she felt her eyes water as well.

Alexia was this 6-year-old girl who stayed at the children's hospital. She was born with a rather large cardiac shunt, so she's had to have multiple open-heart surgeries in the hope that she would get better. Luffy had been visiting her lately, and he had spoken very highly of her.

"Oh, my god, Luffy," Nami muttered before she embraced Luffy. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's not fair," Luffy said. "She was only 6 years old! Why did she have to die, dammit?"

Nami buried her face in Luffy's shoulder.

"I…I never thought I'd fall in love with her, like that," said Luffy. "It's…it's just sad, you know?" He looked up to the sky as his tears still fell.

"I remember…a few days ago," he said. "The day I got arrested…and when we met."

_Flashback; Tuesday, June 25__th__. 11:03 pm._

Luffy was out with Usopp and Zoro. He wasn't really supposed to be out this late, but he figured that since it was Summertime, he could have some good old Summertime the only way he knew how: egging someone's house.

Their target: Spandam's house.

"Luffy, we are gonna get in so much trouble," said Usopp.

"Seriously," added Zoro.

"Oh, you two are a couple of party poopers," said Luffy as he tossed an egg at the house, once again. "It's Summer! Let loose!"

"Luffy, you're pushing your luck," Usopp stated. "You're 18, you know! That makes you a legal adult, and the cops aren't gonna take too lightly to you!"

"What do you know?" Luffy asked as he tossed another egg at the house.

"HEY!" shouted Spandam, who came storming out when Luffy went on with bombarding his house with eggs. "YOU CUT THAT OUT! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I CALLED THE POLICE!"

**CRACK! SPLAT!** Spandam was met with a face full of egg, but it was not Luffy who tossed it.

"Okay, I'll admit it," a smirking Usopp said, tossing an egg up and down in his hand. "I've been wanting to do that for a LONG time."

Zoro snickered while Luffy just went into a guffaw.

Suddenly, **WHOOOOOO!** The sounds of a siren blaring was heard.

"Oh, crap!" Luffy cursed.

"The cops!" Usopp said.

"Dammit, I've already gotten two strikes!" Zoro grumbled. "I can't afford getting arrested, again!"

The three friends ran, but Luffy wasn't fast enough. He was soon cut off by one of the cars while Usopp and Zoro kept running until they noticed that their leader wasn't following them.

"Ah, come on, man! Gimme a break!"

Zoro and Usopp turned and saw that Luffy had been pinned to the car by the police officer with his hands pulled behind his back and his wrists cuffed.

"Luffy!" Zoro cried.

"Don't worry!" Luffy called. "You're in enough trouble with the police, Zoro! Just get outta here! I'll be fine!"

However reluctantly, Zoro and Usopp turned and kept running.

"We'll call Ace, Luffy!" Usopp called as they ran.

Luffy was pushed into the back seat of the police car, and was then taken away to jail.

XXX

11:48 pm.

"Egging someone's house, Luffy? Seriously? How OLD are you?"

"I was just having fun, Ace! Lighten up."

"I don't care, Luffy! You don't go egging someone's house! Now get your ass in the car and let's go home, already!"

Ace came to bail his little brother out of jail, and needless to say, he was quite pissed. He did calm down a bit when he learned that they let Luffy off easy and that all he had to do was 48 hours of community service.

"What do you have to do, anyway?" Ace asked as he and Luffy drove home.

"I gotta go down to the children's hospital and visit this kid named Alexia," Luffy answered. "I start tomorrow at 9."

"Oh," Ace said. "Well, that doesn't sound so bad."

"Ace, do you know how depressing that place sounds?" Luffy questioned. "To go into a place filled with sick, dying kids?"

"Luffy, come on," Ace said. "Those kids have got it pretty hard at places like those. Some have some pretty aggressive cancer, some are born with cleft lips, some can't even walk and talk like we can! Cut 'em some slack, will ya?"

Luffy sighed.

"I guess," he muttered.

"Who knows?" Ace mused. "You might grow to like this Alexia kid."

Luffy grumbled under his breath, resting his head against his palm.

XXX

Wednesday, June 26th. 9:00 am.

Luffy had arrived at Little East Blue Children's Hospital to start his hours of community service. He was a bit irritated that he had to cancel that date that he and Nami had planned, but when he told her why, she took it rather well, saying that maybe visiting children at the hospital would do him some good.

"Okay," Luffy sighed. "Let's get this over with."

With that, he entered.

It didn't really look as bad as he at first made it out to be. Of course it was going to look clean. All hospitals had to be clean. He didn't really expect it to sound so quiet though, except for the sounds of Mozart playing in the loud speakers that were hooked up in the corners of the ceiling.

Luffy walked up to the receptionist: a tall, tanned man in a nurse's uniform.

"Uh, excuse me," he said. "I'm here to see Alexia."

"Oh, so you must be the new volunteer?" asked the receptionist, earning a nod from Luffy in reply. "Great! You'll find Alexia upstairs and in the fourth room to your left. You can't miss her."

"Okay, thanks," Luffy said before he took the elevator upstairs.

He walked down the hallway, and, as the receptionist had said, stopped and entered the fourth room to his left.

It was then that he saw her.

A little girl, no older than 6, with short, somewhat spiky, pale pink hair and bright blue eyes. She wore one of those hospital gowns that most patients wore, and in her hands was a book with dolphins on the cover.

This must've been Alexia.

The girl looked up at Luffy, and upon noticing him, she gave him a big, friendly smile of greeting. Luffy silently gasped.

She was…adorable…!

"Hi!" Alexia greeted him. "You must be Luffy!"

Luffy felt his heart melt, and he felt something inside him instantly click. This girl was so bright, so cheery, and so full of life! It was like he was falling in love, all over again.

"And…you must be Alexia," Luffy said as he went up to her and gently took her tiny hands in his. "Hi."

Alexia smiled a big, toothy grin at Luffy. It was then that she was missing two teeth: one of her bottom canines and one of her top incisors.

"Are you gonna take me to go play, now?" asked Alexia.

"Huh?" Luffy muttered.

"The doctor said I couldn't go play until you got here," said Alexia. "You are gonna take me to go play, right?"

"Oh!" Luffy said. "O-of course! Yes!"

"The play room's upstairs," Alexia said. "Can you carry me there?"

"Carry you?" Luffy repeated. "I don't understand."

"Well, the doctor says that I can't really walk very much," Alexia told him. "She said that I can only walk for a little bit, and that someone has to carry me to places and that I can't play unless someone's watching me."

"Oh, I see," Luffy said. "Well, come on. I'll carry you."

Alexia smiled before she let Luffy gently pull her into his arms. To keep from falling, she clutched his shirt and rested her head sideways on his chest.

"You have a really nice heartbeat," said Alexia.

"Thanks," said Luffy before he carried her out of them.

XXX

9:10.

The room was filled with the sound of happy, laughing kids playing with blocks and toy cars and cuddling stuffed animals and such. Some even played with the puppets and put on a little bit of a show for their friends.

Luffy was sitting with Alexia, playing patty-cake with her and singing a little rhyme.

"All around the mulberry bush,

The monkey chased the weasel,

The monkey stopped to pull up his sock…"

**CLAP!** The clapped their hands.

"POP goes the weasel!"

They both broke into laughter.

"You're a lot of fun, Luffy," Alexia said.

"You're a lot of fun, too, Alexia," Luffy said.

Alexia giggled.

"You wanna play something else, now?" asked Luffy.

"How about we play with the stuffed animals?" asked Alexia.

"Okay, sure," Luffy said. "Which one do you wanna play with?"

"I wanna play with the dolphin," Alexia said.

"Okay," said Luffy before he went to get the plush dolphin while he got a plush Arctic wolf which reminded him of Blizzard.

Alexia took the dolphin from Luffy's arms.

"I just love dolphins," said Alexia. "They're my favorite animals!"

"I figured when I saw you reading that book," Luffy said before he showed her the plush wolf in his hand. "Look! This wolf looks like my dog, Blizzard."

"You have a dog?" asked Alexia.

"Yeah," Luffy said. "I always keep a picture of him in my wallet. Wanna see him?"

"Okay!" Alexia said.

Luffy pulled out his wallet and unfolded the flaps, revealing pictures of himself, Ace, Blizzard, Nami, and the others.

"See?" Luffy asked. "This is Blizzard, here. I had some peanut butter on the camera, so that's why he had his nose up to it."

Alexia giggled, again, but then she stopped and pointed a picture of Luffy kissing Nami's cheek.

"Who's the pretty lady?" she asked.

"That's Nami," Luffy said. "She's my girlfriend."

"She looks nice," Alexia said.

"Thanks," Luffy said.

"What about that long-nosed guy?" asked Alexia, pointing to a picture of a smirking Usopp.

"That's Usopp," said Luffy. "He's my best friend. Well, my other best friend. My first best friend is Zoro. He's this guy, here." He points to a picture of Zoro.

"He looks kind of mean," said Alexia.

"He can be, sometimes," Luffy agreed, "but he can be a nice guy, too."

"What about this guy?" asked Alexia. "The one with the freckles?"

"That's my big brother, Ace D. Portgas," Luffy said. "Well, he's not really my brother."

"What do you mean?" asked Alexia.

"Well, he used to have parents of his own," said Luffy, "but they both died."

"Aww," Alexia said. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"But our Mom and Dad adopted him three years before I was born," said Luffy. "A few years after that, though, our Dad left us, and then my Mom got liver cancer and died, but it's okay, because we still have each other."

"I have a big brother, too," Alexia said.

"Really?" Luffy asked. "What's his name?"

"Maximilian," Alexia answered. "I like to call him Maxie, though. He's not really at home, very much, though."

"Why? Where is he?" asked Luffy.

"He's somewhere far away," Alexia said. "He's fighting with some people."

Luffy's heart sank. Her brother must've been a soldier who'd been shipped overseas to fight in some war that's going on.

He wondered if he even knew if his sister was even here.

"Hey, Alexia?" Luffy asked. "I've been wondering why they put you in this place, anyway. You don't look sick."

Alexia looked up at Luffy.

"You're not really…dying, are you?" asked Luffy.

A pause, but then, Alexia smiled, which was a bit of a surprise. Most children would panic and start bawling at the thought of dying, and yet, she was acting like it didn't bother her, at all.

"Not really," said Alexia. "I'm just staying here until I get my surgery a couple of days from now."

"You need surgery?" asked Luffy. "What for?"

"The doctor said I was born with this big hole in my heart," Alexia answered, plain as day.

Luffy's eyes went wide and his lips parted slightly in surprise.

"It makes my heartbeat sound funny," said Alexia. "That's why I have to have surgery. I've had some before, but this is gonna be my last one, and then I can go home with my Mommy!"

Luffy felt his heart go out to the child. She seemed so innocent and yet so strong…almost like him.

"Anyway, let's keep playing, okay?" Alexia asked.

Luffy smiled.

"Yeah," he said.

Alexia picked up the plush dolphin and made motions with it, like it was swimming.

"Look at me!" she said. "I'm a dolphin, swimming free in the water!"

"And I'm a big bad wolf!" Luffy said in a grisly voice. "I'm gonna eat you! Here I come!"

Alexia pretended to scream, and then she and Luffy broke into laughter, again.

XXX

4:30 pm.

It was time for Alexia to be back in her room and for Luffy to head home.

"We'll play again, won't we Luffy?" asked Alexia.

"Of course," said Luffy. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"But…you're not scheduled to see Alexia, tomorrow," said the doctor.

"I know," Luffy said with a wink and a grin.

The doctor looked a bit taken aback, at first, but then she smiled.

"See you tomorrow, Alexia," Luffy said.

"See you tomorrow, Luffy," Alexia said. "Best buddies, right?"

"Of course," said Luffy. "Best buddies."

With that, Luffy left the hospital.

XXX

Wednesday, June 26th. 8:50 am.

"Alexia?"

"Yep! That's her name!"

"Aww, she sounds so cute!"

Luffy was walking with Zoro, Nami, and Blizzard, on his way to the children's hospital to see Alexia again. Of course, they were curious, so they had to ask. Blizzard was just with them because Luffy thought that he would bring him with him, today.

"It was amazing," Luffy said. "When I saw her…she looked so full of life and joy! It's like she wasn't even aware that she has this hole in her heart!"

"Aww, she was lonely?" asked Nami.

"Oh, no, she has a REAL hole in her heart," said Luffy. "She has to get surgery in a couple of days."

"Oh," Zoro said.

"Well, I think it's cute that you fell in love with a little girl!" Nami mused, smiling.

"Yeah," said Luffy. "Wait a minute. How could I fall in love with a little girl? That's just wrong! I'm in love with you!"

"No, Luffy!" Nami said. "Ugh! Seriously, why am I dating a total idiot? Anyway, when I say 'fall in love', I mean in a way you'd want a little sister or brother."

"Oh!" Luffy realized before he chuckled.

"So, you're gonna be visiting her everyday, now?" asked Zoro.

"Yep!" Luffy said.

Nami giggled.

"You can be so sweet!" she said.

"Heh-heh! Yeah!" Luffy agreed. "Well, we better get going! Blizzard! Let's go!"

**Ruff!** Blizzard barked before he and Luffy ran off, leaving Zoro and Nami smiling after them.

XXX

9:19 am.

Luffy arrived at the hospital, again. He did have a bit of trouble, at first, because Blizzard wasn't a certified therapy dog, but Luffy promised that Blizzard would behave around the children, especially Alexia.

Speaking of whom…

"Luffy, you're here!" said girl greeted her visitor with a smile and a hug.

"Hi, Alexia!" Luffy greeted.

Alexia then noticed Blizzard.

"Is this Blizzard?" she asked.

"Yeah," Luffy said. "Say 'hi' Blizzard!"

**ARF!** Blizzard barked.

"Good boy," Luffy praised as he pet him and gave him a peanut butter cookie as a treat. "Now give Alexia your paw!"

Blizzard gently put his big paw in Alexia's palm.

"Good boy!" Luffy praised him, again.

"He sure is smart!" Alexia commented.

"Yeah, he sure is," Luffy said. "Wanna pet him?

"Can I?" asked Alexia, earning a nod from Luffy.

Alexia brushed her hand against Blizzard's soft, smooth, snow white fur, earning a content sound from the wolf-dog.

"Good boy," Alexia praised.

"So, Alexia," Luffy said. "What do you wanna do, today?"

"I want you to read me a story, today," Alexia said before she gave the 18-year-old a book.

It was a book with a pink cover, and the picture on said cover was of a dolphin pup, jumping out of the ocean.

The title read _Dulcy the Lost Dolphin_.

"You want me to read this?" Luffy asked.

"Yes," Alexia answered.

"Okay," Luffy said before he took one of the chairs and sat down.

Blizzard laid down on the cold, hard, tiled-floor, his ears pricked up, ready to listen. Alexia sat up in her cot, also eager to hear the story.

"Once upon a time," Luffy began to read, "there was a little dolphin named Dulcy. Dulcy lived in the ocean with her mother, father, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins."

Luffy turned the book over so that he could show Alexia the picture in the book: a pod of dolphins.

Alexia smiled before Luffy kept reading.

"One day, while swimming with her family," Luffy continued, "Dulcy saw a baby seal pup, also playing in the water. 'Come and play!' called the baby seal. Dulcy swam after the baby seal, but she didn't know that her family was swimming away without her."

Luffy turned the book over, again, revealing a picture of Dulcy straying from her pod to play with a brown seal pup, but her pod, unaware of this, kept swimming on.

"Uh-oh," Alexia muttered. "Keep reading! I wanna see what happens next!"

"Dulcy and the baby seal playfully chased each other around in the water," Luffy read on, "but when Dulcy looked up, she didn't see her family, anymore! 'Oh, no!' cried Dulcy. 'I'm lost!'"

Luffy turned the book over, once more, revealing a picture of Dulcy and the baby seal, looking around, worried.

"Poor Dulcy!" Alexia said.

"The baby seal felt bad for letting Dulcy get too far away from her family," Luffy kept reading. "'I'll help you look for them,' said the baby seal. 'Thank you!' said Dulcy. And so, Dulcy and the baby seal swam away to find Dulcy's family. They looked all over the ocean for them, but they didn't know that someone was watching them."

Turning the book around, once again, Luffy revealed a picture of Dulcy and the seal pup swimming through the water, searching for the dolphin pod, but far away behind them was a hungry shark.

Alexia gasped.

"A shark!" she cried.

"It was getting late, and Dulcy and the seal were getting tired, so they stopped to rest near the shore of an island. That's when the shark came. 'Shark! Shark!' cried Dulcy. 'Swim away!' cried the baby seal."

A picture of the shark giving chase after Dulcy and the seal pup is shown.

"The shark chased after Dulcy and the baby seal, and no matter how hard or fast they swam, they couldn't get away! It looked the shark was about to eat them both, but then, a voice shouted, 'Stop right there!'. Dulcy, the baby seal, and the shark looked up to see a pod of dolphins. It was Dulcy's family!"

Luffy showed Alexia a picture of the shark being confronted by a pod of dolphins. The shark visibly showed fear.

"Yay~!" Alexia cheered.

"'Go away and don't come back!' shouted Dulcy's mother, and the shark swim away as fast as he could. 'Mommy! Daddy! I found you!' Dulcy cheered as she swam up and gave them a big hug. 'Where have you been?' asked Dulcy's father. 'We looked everywhere for you!' said one of Dulcy's sisters. 'Sorry,' said Dulcy. 'Next time, I'll stay close and won't stray from you guys, ever again.' And so, Dulcy said goodbye to her seal friend and continued to swim the ocean with her family. The End."

Alexia clapped her hands and cheered.

"Great story!" Alexia said.

"I liked it, too," said Luffy.

"You know, I've always wanted to see dolphins," said Alexia. "Not like the ones in the book, but…the real ones. Real, live dolphins, you know?"

"I've seen them, before," said Luffy. "They keep them at the local aquarium."

"Really?" Alexia asked.

"They sure do," replied Luffy.

"I wish I could go there," Alexia began, "but I can't leave the hospital until after my surgery."

"Who says you can't leave?" asked Luffy.

"The doctor did," Alexia answered. "She said I can't leave until my surgery's done."

Luffy exhaled through his nose and scratched the back of his head.

"You really wanna see dolphins, huh?" he asked.

Alexia nodded, and Luffy grinned.

Blizzard looked up at Luffy with intrigue. He knew that grin, anywhere.

"Listen, Alexia," Luffy said. "I know I just got here, but…you think you could wait for me until tomorrow?"

"Why?" Alexia said.

"It's a secret, okay?" Luffy told her.

Alexia looked confused, at first, but then, she smiled at Luffy.

"Okay," she said. "I trust you, Luffy."

"Good," said Luffy before he got up. "Let's go home, Blizzard!"

**Ruff!** Blizzard barked before he followed Luffy out of the room.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Luffy!" Alexia called.

"You, too!" Luffy called back.

XXX

10:16 am.

"For the last time, I said 'no'!"

"But she needs this, doc! Please! I'm begging you, here!"

Luffy was taking with Alexia's doctor, a plus-sized woman with dark brown hair and light tan skin.

"Mr. Monkey, I think it's sweet that you want to do this for Alexia" said the doctor, "but you just can't! She needs to stay here until she has her open-heart surgery tomorrow at 4!"

"You think she's gonna die if she goes outside?" questioned Luffy. "She's been stuck in here for practically her whole life! She's six years old! She doesn't need to be cooped up in here, playing with stuffed animals and reading books, 24/7! She needs to get out and get some fresh air! Don't you get it?"

The doctor stared at him, and Luffy sighed.

"Please," he said. "Alexia…she's an amazing little girl and…and I love her. I'm begging you, just let me take her out of the hospital, just for about a few hours! I promise, I'll have her back before her surgery! Please!"

The doctor sighed and scratched her hair.

"You know what?" she asked. "You're right. You can take her."

Luffy took her hand and shook it, gratefully.

"Oh, thank you!" he said. "Thank you!"

"But listen," said the doctor. "If you are going to take her out, take her in a wheelchair. Hospital rules."

"Okay, yeah, sure!" Luffy said.

XXX

Thursday, June 27th. 11:08 am.

"I've got a big surprise for you, today, Alexia."

"Ooh, what is it?"

"Well, if I TOLD you, it wouldn't BE a surprise, anymore. Duh!"

"If you tell me, now, I'll still act excited!"

Luffy laughed.

After getting permission from Alexia's doctor, Luffy had put her into a wheelchair and was taking her…well, somewhere. He said it was supposed to be a surprise and that she'll see when they get there.

After taking the bus, they had finally arrived at their destination: the Gyoncorde Aquarium.

"Whoa!" Alexia gasped. "What are we doing here?"

"Oh, you'll see, very soon," Luffy said before he and Alexia entered inside.

Alexia's mind was instantly blown away. She saw so many beautiful fish and sea creatures of different colors and sizes: clownfish, angelfish, manta rays, starfish, seals, polar bears, walruses, the whole lot!

"Wow, Luffy!" Alexia said. "I can't believe you brought me all the way here to see all these creatures!"

Luffy chuckled.

"Thanks for bringing me here, Luffy!" said Alexia. "I don't think this day could get any better!"

"Oh, really?" Luffy questioned with a smirk.

"Luffy! Over here!"

Luffy and Alexia looked up to see Nami and Ace.

"Hey! Nami! Ace!" Luffy called.

Alexia gasped upon seeing the two.

"Alexia, that's Ace, my big brother, and Nami, my girlfriend," Luffy introduced Alexia to them. "Remember? I showed you their pictures in my wallet."

"Yeah, I remember!" Alexia said.

Nami was the first to approach Luffy, and gave him a hug and a small peck on the cheek.

"Hi, babe," she greeted him.

"Hey," Luffy greeted her back.

"Hey, Lu," Ace greeted.

**Thump!** He and Luffy bumped fists.

By this time, Nami and Ace finally noticed Alexia.

"This must be Alexia," said Nami. "Hi, sweetheart!"

"Hi!" Alexia said. "You're even prettier in person!"

"And YOU are even cuter, in person!" Nami said as she took Alexia's hand. "Oh, Luffy, you were right about her!"

"Hi!" Ace said. "I'm Ace!"

"I know," Alexia said. "You're Luffy's big brother. Luffy told me about you!"

"So I see," said Ace.

"So, Luffy," Nami said. "Ready to see…the dolphins?"

Alexia gasped.

"Dolphins? Here?" she asked.

"That's right!" Ace answered. "Luffy planned this whole thing since yesterday!"

"Really?" asked Alexia, excitedly. "When can we see them? When?"

"Okay, okay!" Luffy said. "Calm down! We'll see them, real soon! Come on, guys! We can't keep this little lady waiting!"

"Right," Ace said. "Let's get going."

The group rounded the corner, heading upstairs to the outside.

There, they saw a big tank of water, big enough for at least three dolphins to fit in and swim around in, and as a matter of fact, there were indeed three dolphins frolicking in the tank!

"Dolphins!" Alexia said. "Real, live dolphins!"

Luffy smiled, and his heart swelled when he heard Alexia's excited laughter.

**FWEET!** The dolphin trainer blew a whistle, and three sea mammals seemed to line up at attention.

"Okay, you guys!" the trainer called as he held up a hoop. "Up!"

The dolphins swam around in the tank, and then, **SPLASH!** Each of them jumped out of the water and through the hoop, pulling off little tricks as they did before they landed back in the tank.

"Good boys!" the trainer praised.

**FOOSH!** One of the dolphins sprayed some water at the trainer through her blowhole.

"Whoops!" he said. "And girl!"

"Your dolphins are amazing!"

The trainer looked over and saw Luffy wheeling Alexia over to him, followed by Ace and Nami.

"Thanks," said the trainer.

"Do they have names?" asked Alexia.

"Sure do," the trainer replied. "The two boys are Flick and Chip, and the girl is Marlene."

"Wow!" Alexia said. "Hey, can I pet one?"

"Of course!" the trainer answered.

Luffy helped Alexia out of the chair and sat her on the edge of the tank.

**TWEET!** The trainer blew his whistle, again, and Marlene, the female dolphin, swam up to Alexia. The six-year-old was so excited to see her favorite animal up close and personal, she almost felt like she couldn't move. Slowly, she eased her hand onto Marlene's snout, and gently brushed her fingers against the smooth, wet, shiny skin.

"Good girl, Marlene," the trainer praised her.

"Good girl," Alexia praised.

"Wanna feed her?" asked the trainer.

"Can I?" Alexia asked.

"Be my guest," the trainer said as he handed her a fish.

Alexia, seemingly shy, at first, handed Marlene the fish, which she took from her hand and ate it before she did a back flip back into the water, playfully splashing Luffy, Ace, Nami, and Alexia as she did.

"Hey!" Ace cried.

Luffy, Nami, and Alexia just laughed.

Just then, there came a slight pause, and then Alexia smiled.

"This has been the day of my life," she said.

"Really?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah," said Alexia. "Thanks, Luffy, for bringing me here. I feel like my life is complete, now."

Luffy ruffled Alexia's hair and chuckled. Ace and Nami smiled, too.

"Come on," said Luffy. "Let's take you back to the hospital."

"Okay," Alexia said as she let Luffy pick her up, put her back in the wheelchair, and then proceeded to wheel her back to the children's hospital.

XXX

3:39 pm.

Luffy and Alexia had arrived back at the hospital…and only 21 minutes until the latter's open-heart surgery.

"Well, you're about to have your surgery, Alexia," said Luffy to Alexia, who sat in her bed, waiting for the doctors to come and bring her into the operating room.

"I know," Alexia agreed.

"You're not scared, right?" asked Luffy.

"Mm-mm," Alexia hummed.

"Good," Luffy said.

"Luffy," Alexia said. "I wanna let you know that…I'm glad I met you, and that I've cherished the time we've have together."

"Aw," Luffy cooed. "I'm glad that I met you, too, Alexia."

Luffy couldn't help but notice that they're seemed to be a bit of a change in the youngster's voice, but he decided to brush it off as being grateful for letting her have her wish.

"Well," Luffy said. "I'm gonna go home, now, but I'll see ya tomorrow, okay?"

Alexia looked at Luffy, still smiling.

"Goodbye, Luffy," she said.

Luffy smiled back at her.

"Silly," he said. "Don't say goodbye. You only say that if you're gone forever."

Alexia still smiled at Luffy, which somewhat confused him before he left.

"I wonder why she was speaking that way," Luffy said.

XXX

Friday, June 28th. 9:45 am.

Morning at the D brothers' house.

"Oh, jeez! I'M LATE!"

Luffy was rushing to get dressed, brush his teeth, get breakfast, and get out the door, trying to hurry to the children's hospital.

"L-Luffy, wait!" Ace said. "I got a call from the hospital!"

"Sorry, Ace! Can't talk!" Luffy exclaimed as he grabbed a bouquet of flowers and a box wrapped in blue and pink wrapping paper.

"But, Luffy!" Ace called.

**SLAM!** Luffy was already out the door.

Ace could only sigh and put his palm to his face.

"He'll find out when he gets there," Ace said, "but it's gonna break his heart."

XXX

10:00 am.

Luffy arrived at the hospital, again, a bounce in his step and a smile on his face. He walked up to the receptionist desk.

"Excuse me," he said to the receptionist. "I'm here to see Alexia, again."

The receptionist's eyes went wide, and he looked away, a somber look on his face.

"Is something wrong?" Luffy asked.

"Well," the receptionist began, "I'm sorry to say this, but…I'm afraid Alexia is no longer staying here. She's gone."

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked. "Was she taken home or something?"

"No," the receptionist said. "She…she died."

Luffy let out a gasp of horror. He dropped the bouquet of flowers and the present. There was the sound of glass smashing against the hard floor. Water began to seep through the box and onto the floor.

"N…no," he said. "No, it's not true. You're lying! She can't be gone!"

"I'm sorry," said the receptionist. "She passed away in the middle of her surgery."

Angry tears began to well up in Luffy's eyes. He then turned and ran out the door, his tears spilling from his eyes in small beads. He ran as far away from the hospital as he could possibly get, and he didn't look back.

The receptionist went to pick up the box and flowers that Luffy had dropped, but upon opening it, he saw that it was a broken snow globe…with little plastic dolphins inside.

_Flashback end_

10:38 am.

"Now I know why she talked that way," Luffy said. "She said 'goodbye' because she knew she was going to die…and I didn't realize it until now!"

He then went back to sobbing.

"Oh, Luffy, I'm so sorry," Nami said.

"I can't believe she's gone," said Luffy. "She…touched me, and now she's gone."

Nami put her hand over her boyfriend's and gently squeezed it, getting his attention. She was smiling, even through her own tears.

"Look on the bright side, Luffy," she said. "At least you made her last few days on this Earth meaningful."

Luffy looked up at the sky, and he smiled, too.

"You're right," he said. "I did…and I'm glad that I did."

"Good," Nami said. "Don't worry. There will probably be other kids."

"Yeah," Luffy said, "but…none of them will be like Alexia."

"I know," said Nami as she let Luffy lean on her shoulder. "You know…I bet she's swimming with dolphins up there."

"Yeah," Luffy agreed.

Up in the clouds, they could see the formation of a pod of dolphins, and the back of one was a little smiling girl.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

><p>I am SO sorry that I kept you all waiting for this. I hope you're not disappointed.<p>

Review, please!


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